Sniper: Ultimate Kill

Many decent elements come together for this entry in a series that has had its struggles. This is the blueprint for what they should be trying for in my humble opinion. It's obviously not perfection. Those seeking realism, a carbon copy of the original or aggravated by errors are in the wrong place.

'Ultimate Kill' starts with an atmospheric opening. Some classy music, gory violence and a curvy Columbian woman supplies some nudity (a first for the series) as some unknown VIP gets taken out by a sniper in Latin America. We are quick to find out a drug cartel is taking out it's rivals to form a monopoly over drug trade shipments into the United States.

Brendan Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) now a Master Sergeant is grieving and questioning himself. He's brought on board a mission by Miller (Billy Zane) to provide sniper overwatch to a DEA lead operation by Agent Estrada (Danay Garcia) to apprehend the elusive drug kingpin Morales (Juan Sebastian Calero). Down in Columbia, his dad Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger) has come out of retirement and is running the show from behind a desk.

Things don't go according to plan naturally. Leaving the good guys to nab their drug baron target somehow and put an end to the contracted sniper known as El Diablo (Felipe Calero). They're also dealing with a possible security leak while Brendan and Estrada come to terms with the mental low points of their jobs.

This sequel supplies a straight forward story, but it's shot well and runs at a good pace. Another change in scenery is always appreciated. There's some action bits, but the focus stays on sniping as it should in a franchise like this. Established faces get to have their moments too. References to the past are great and there's a moment of meaningful emotion between the estranged father and son that we didn't get from their first meetup in 'Legacy'.

The villains aren't deep, but more than serviceable. Happy Agent Estrada didn't turn into a predictable romance. She carries her own if not a little too emotionally erratic. Far from boring and the only sequel that's been able to get the "main" faces all under one roof, 'Ultimate Kill' delivered. The drug angle wasn't special, but an increase in graphic violence, the inclusion of some nudity in addition to a cast reunion upped the ante this time out.

Having been watching the "Sniper" movies since the very first movie, which I had on VHS. Then I have been more and more disappointed as the franchise progressed.

This 2017 addition to the franchise was actually the better of the last couple of "Sniper" movies.

Sure the plot was predictable, but the acting was good and the action was good. So that made it up for the movie having a very generic and straight forward plot.

The sniping sequences were especially good, which did add a lot of flavor to the movie.

The special effects in "Sniper: Ultimate Kill" were quite good, and I had not expect to see this kind of graphic violence in a movie such as this.

I was genuinely surprised and entertained with this movie.

It was quite interesting to have both Billy Zane and Tom Berenger return to reprise the two characters whom started the franchise, despite they did nothing more than just stand around and talk. Would have been a nice treat to have them return to the field as snipers.

Jesus Morales, a Colombian drug lord has hired a sniper, known as 'El Diablo', to eliminate the competition and thus control the flow of drugs from Colombia to the United States. An operation to capture or kill Morales and his sniper is launched. It is led by DEA agent Kate Estrada and includes USMC sniper Master Sergeant Brandon Beckett. After an early setback it becomes clear that El Diablo is a skilled professional, rather than a self-taught amateur; it is also clear that he has a state-of-the-art rifle firing experimental homing ammunition. Estrada and Beckett will have a hard time getting their targets.

This is not a great film, far from it, but for a straight to DVD release it is pretty solid. There is a good amount of action and some decent moments of high tension. There are also plenty of clichés and technical errors not to mention the fictional ammunition available to the snipers... it would have been much better if had kept things more real. There are some fairly poor effects; showing CGI bullets as they head to their targets got old ages ago. On the plus side the acting is decent enough and we didn't get any cliché romance between Beckett and Estrada. I can't really say how it compares to other films in the 'Sniper' franchise; the only other one I've seen was the original and that was over twenty years ago. Overall not a must see but a solid enough film if you have ninety minutes to kill and enjoy the genre.

The seventh 'Sniper' franchise movie (the original was released way back in 1994 and I bet you they had no idea the characters from that film would be popping up twenty-three years later!) and the fourth to star Chad Michael Collins as Brandon Beckett, son of the legendary sniper from the original movie. Collins has really made the starring role his own.

'Sniper: Ultimate Kill' is the first movie to feature the trio of Brandon Beckett, his father Thomas (Tom Berenger) and Richard Miller (Billy Zane).

If you've enjoyed the previous instalments in this franchise, you're going to enjoy this one. Plenty of no-frills sniper action, a little intrigue, and the added bonus of seeing the original 'Sniper' stars reunited.

Sure, the uniforms might not be right, Brandon Beckett shouldn't have facial hair because he's a Marine, acting is sometimes a little wooden and the dialogue sometimes a little cliched, and there are plot holes so big you could drive a tank through them...but it's entertaining and true to the previous six movies.

Having new bullets/technology makes killing as easy as it ever was. Some think Snipers are easy killers anyway - considering the distance they have from their targets and all that. Now I have no idea how many movies we have in the Sniper series ... and I seriously have to rewatch the very first one they made. I remember it fondly and hope it is so - it was succesful enough to spawn so many ... well sequels of sorts.

Tom Berenger is still at it, but he lets the young ones do the heavy lifting and work. It is still nice to see him and Billy Zane back - even if it is in a smaller capacity. So while this isn't perfect, there are enough interesting moments to make this a more than decent watch.